Study Ranks Smartest States in America; Vermont is Ranked 4th

Source: Newsweek

If you often seem to find yourself surrounded by smart people in Vermont, there might be a reason for that. Newsweek reports on a study by Web3 platform Freename which ranked the top 10 smartest states, and Vermont comes in at #4.

The study looked at business and professional indicators, educational attainment and achievement, IQ, lifelong learning and intellectual engagement, standardized test scores and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) focus and innovation.

The top brainiest states were the following:

• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• Washington
• Vermont
• Virginia
• New Jersey
• New Hampshire
• Maryland
• Colorado
• Minnesota

Massachusetts claimed the top spot in part because it had the highest average IQ (104.3) and highest proportion of residents holding graduate or bachelor’s degrees.

The top state is also home to some of the top colleges like Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The variety and quality of education in the area is likely correlated with the stronger performance on the smartest state metrics Freename looked at.

Connecticut, meanwhile, was just a little behind Massachusetts, with an average IQ of 103.1 and far higher standardized test scores for both reading and math.

Across the country in the Pacific Northwest, Washington claimed third place, with higher average SAT scores and the highest percentage of residents employed in STEM fields at 9.5 percent.

The other top 10 states, Vermont, Virginia, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maryland, Colorado and Minnesota also boasted high average IQ scores, standardized test readings and educational attainment.

Vermont saw an average IQ of 103.8, the third highest and America, and 44.37 percent of residents had a bachelor’s degree or higher.